Influence of demographic factors on business performance in small to medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs)

Demographic factors such as age, gender, education, income and experience has a considerable impact on business performance. While much attention has been devoted to business skills and the problems faced by small businesses, little attention has been paid to demographic factors. The high failure rate of small businesses in South Africa makes it necessary to examine whether selected demographic factors impact business performance. The focus of this study is the Eastern Cape Province, economically the poorest province in South Africa. The study empirically tests whether gender, education and income of the business have a significant impact on the business performance of Small Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) in the South African context. Quantitative research was deemed appropriate for the study, whereby systematic random sampling was employed to select a sample of 332 respondent organisations. The findings show that the relationship between gender and income in relation to business performance was found to be significant. Only 38% of managers indicated that they had obtained either a degree or postgraduate qualification. The lack of education poses a core challenge in terms of human resources for the tourism sector, when seeking skilled employees to meet future needs of the industry. In order for managers to be more effective, it is recommended that government intervenes by promoting educational and training initiatives and be gender sensitive by encouraging more women to study at tertiary institutions